VMP Edition
As you've read over the last three months, HPP was invited by Jim Zeek of Chief Pontiac Productions and Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP) to use its NHRA-sanctioned track in Petersburg, Virginia, the day before the Fifth Annual Pontiacs in the Park event. In Part 4, we contrast old school versus new school: One driver races a Pontiac he bought 30 years ago in high school, and the other enjoys a late-model Trans Am tuned to within an inch of its life.
You may expect a classic battle of traditional Pontiac engine versus modern LS engine technology, however, we are well aware that the T/A is set up to run two seconds quicker than the Tempest, so they're not competing against one another. They are running against the clock to show you their respective combo's capabilities.
Arnie (A.J.) Brewer of Scottdale, Pennsylvania, represents "old-school" Pontiac with his '67 Tempest. It features a Ram Air III 400, a Turbo 350 trans, and 4.10 gears. Arnie is good friends with many HPP Pavement Pounders alumni, including Duke Jefferson, John Labuda, and Rick Garden, all from western Pennsylvania. This time, it was Arnie's turn to put up or shut up for the Shootout.
Jeff Widner of Knoxville, Tennessee, is in the "new-school" corner with his '98 Firebird Formula. It packs an LS6 block, a Turbo 400 trans, and a 4.10-geared rear. Jeff is skilled in taking on all competitors at his local eighth-mile Cherokee Raceway in Rogersville, Tennessee, but what's going to happen at this NHRA-sanctioned, quarter-mile track?
Weather Report
The temperature at Virginia Motorsports Park varied by time of day, starting in the low-60s and progressing to 75.2 degrees by the midafternoon track passes. Barometric pressure was gauged at 30.24 hg, and the dew point was 46.4 degrees. The track is 98 feet above sea level, and density altitude ranged from 995 to 1,784, so we use a factor of 0.9809 for e.t. and 1.0199 for mph for 1,700 feet to chart the theoretical best performance at sea level. This will be done on the best pass only based on e.t.